Never Stop Learning: Expand Your Potential Through Professional Development

Growth is critical – regardless of your position in your company or your industry. Investing in your personal and professional growth is never a waste of time or money. Instead, it can open your mind and give you the skills and knowledge necessary to adapt to the changing requirements of your organization.

The key to staying on top of your game is to create an ongoing commitment to learning. The world is constantly changing – new concepts and efficiencies are being thought of every day. Those who don’t seek out professional development will fall behind those while those who do. By getting better at what you do and expanding the boundaries of what you understand, you become a more valuable to your team and company. Implementing new strategies you’ve learned will bring a competitive advantage to your company.

Here are a few of our favorite professional development sources at Employee & Family Resources. Be sure to add these to your summer reading/podcast list:

“I had the privilege of hearing a keynote that Tara Brach gave at the Psychotherapy Networker conference about four years ago. Up until that talk, I’d heard of mindfulness, used it with clients sometimes, and even tried my own mindfulness meditations off and on, but it wasn’t until that talk that I really engaged mindfulness as an everyday practice and foundational tool for helping clients. Brach’s book Radical Acceptance emphasizes not just compassion for others in the world, but also the critical importance of being kind and compassionate with one’s self. Tara Brach’s book changed my life and introduced me to an array of new—and ridiculously simple—resources that would become instrumental in my own personal growth, as well as in my therapeutic practice and leadership role. Tara Brach’s teachings don’t involve any gimmicks or jargon, but rather serve as a simple guide/ practice for being present in all aspects of life.”

Michele Schatzberg, the Sales Account Executive at EFR, recommends the podcasts Sales Gravy: Jeb Blount and The Tim Ferris Show for professional development:

“I love to listen to pod casts for professional development. My favorite for sales development is Sales Gravy: Jeb Blount. His podcasts are typically bite size, 8 to 15 minutes, and easy to listen to during your commute! They focus on one topic per episode and give you great tips and tricks to keep you motivated.

I also subscribe to The Tim Ferris Show. He interviews leaders across all genres and focuses on the keys to their success and daily habits/rituals that they employ, looking for things you can replicate in your own life. These are all longer episodes, typically an hour long and are always thought-provoking.”

How do you improve upon your professional development? Do you have a favorite author/speaker/outlet that has changed the way you lead or manage your team? Share them with your EFR account manager for your chance to be featured on our social media page.